If you’ve ever tried to control a computer without sitting right in front of it, you know the frustration that comes with wireless input devices. A traditional mouse, even when wireless, just isn’t convenient to use if you don’t have a flat (and non-reflective) surface to mouse around on. A wireless trackball works reasonably well, since you just control it by moving the pretty ball around with one of your digits, but such archaic devices are few and far between these days. It seems peripheral manufacturers have abandoned the traditional trackball in favor of touch interfaces and good old mice.
What if you need to type on your PC from a moderate distance away? Sure there are plenty of wireless keyboards, and having it in your lap is no different than a notebook PC for the most part. If the PC in question here is serving as a home theater media device, do you really want a full keyboard stuffed under the coffee table when all you need to type are a few words when searching Netlifx or Hulu for your favorite flick? I’m sure I wasn’t the only one to have this dilemma, with an older laptop setup in the entertainment center to feed video into my HDTV and give me big screen access to all the internet has to offer.
You may have heard of Lenovo’s multimedia remote with keyboard. Just like it sounds, this is a palm-sized device that has a full QWERTY keyboard and pointing device all in one small package. The original model, N5901, used a physical trackball and had a nano USB receiver that stores in the base of the device. If you think of an old school Palm Pilot, that is about the size of this neat little toy and it was quite handy. If you’ve ever hated trying to type with a controller on your favorite game console, you can plug the USB dongle into those as well and type away with ease. The only complaint I’ve had in 9 months of usage is that with the lights turned down for optimal movie enjoyment, it was very difficult to see the black keyboard.
Enter model N5902. Released just last week by Lenovo, the N5902 takes an already good idea and improves on what few things needed improving. A backlit keyboard is now included for your late night viewing pleasure and the design slightly tweaked with a rubberized finish and chrome mouse buttons. The physical trackball wheel has also been replaced by a small capacitive touchpad, akin to those in late model Blackberry phones, and you have a convenient capacitive touch scroll bar to boot.
Even though the N5902 is a brand new model, Lenovo has tossed out a massive 50% off coupon that will get this sweet little gadget to your door for $39.99. This coupon will expire after limited uses, so don’t wait long to get your hands on such a hot geek toy.